Marylanders don’t turn away those in need – including refugees

Despite our governor's ill-natured refusal to give refugees from war and devastation a place in Maryland, we are not that kind of people, activist Jean Athey says. Urge your legislators to sign on to a letter affirming our state's welcoming nature,

/By Jean Athey/ Thirty-one governors, including Maryland’s Governor Hogan, have claimed that their states are closed to any Syrian refugees. Donald Trump wants to ban all Muslims from entering the country. But Gov. Hogan, Marylanders are not like that.

A new article in the Nation says that “state lawmakers have begun to take up the issue [of Syrian refugees] in local legislatures. In South Dakota, one legislator plans to reintroduce a bill to ban refugees from the state . . . Just this week, an Arizona House panel passed a measure that would purport to allow the state to deny entry to refugees. In Florida, state legislators are weighing a bill that would give the governor authority to use ‘military force’ against ‘invaders’ unless the refugee ‘was born in the Western Hemisphere.’” Is this the face Maryland shows to the world? We say no.

We are asking members of the Maryland General Assembly to “take up the issue”-- but on the other side. We want them to say that Maryland welcomes Syrian refugees. The way to do this is through a “sign-on letter,” specifically the one that Sen. Jamie Raskin has written. But if we want this to succeed as a political strategy, we need to get as many state senators and delegates to sign on as possible. To date, we know that we have 26 members of the General Assembly willing to sign. Can you help us get more? We believe that all 126 Democrats should sign!

For this to happen, we need progressive and compassionate Marylanders to contact legislators, both by phone and by personal visit. At least 108 people have already sent emails, using our form, asking their representatives to sign the letter, but now we need a more personal approach—and we need to reach some particular people. Can you help us? Constituent pressure is the best way to persuade legislators to sign this letter! Look for your legislators in the following lists and see who it is that you need to contact. You can find contact info here for your senator and delegates.

Those who have agreed to sign the letter (district number in parentheses):

We hope volunteers will reach out to their own representatives, as well as other Democrats in their counties and around Maryland, who have not yet signed and encourage them to sign onto Sen. Raskin's letter ASAP!

As Phyllis Bennis writes, “We are a huge and wealthy country, with space and money and compassion.” Despite the millions of Syrians fleeing for their lives—something we bear much responsibility for—the U.S. has only accepted 841. Let’s show that we do, in fact, have compassion. Can’t you help us?